The Wildorian Woman
by valleyforge
Summary: Best Romance - 2003 Farscape FanFic Awards. Crais considers Irreversible Contamination


Setting: Prior to Eat Me.  
  
Author's Note: Thanks again to ScifiChick66 and DJ3cats for all the help!  
  
Disclaimer: Farscape belongs to the Jim Henson Company, Hallmark Entertainment, Nine Network Australia and the Sci-fi channel.  
  
The Wildorian Woman  
  
She was a Wildorian.  
  
They met at an open-air market on the commerce planet Delzahma. He was filling his bag with gieyafruit when a slender ivory hand appeared alongside his, also selecting from the cerulean colored melons. What made him look over, he did not know, except perhaps for the delicate beauty of her fingers. It was difficult to describe his first thought upon seeing her, but it was a memory that would remain with him.  
  
She had soft, copper colored hair that floated loosely around her face at the sides and lengthened past her shoulders in the back. Her eyes were brown or green, depending on the light, and the paleness of her complexion framed full, coral shaded lips that turned on the verge of smiling.  
  
It was a moment that was either seized or let to pass and never thought of again. Bialar Crais quickly made a choice.  
  
"How do you know which ones are ripe?" he asked.  
  
Faced now with the same decision, she paused before glancing into the bag of fruit rested in the crook of his arm. "You seem to be doing well at choosing for a man who pretends not to know."  
  
Her response caught him off guard and without an immediate reply.  
  
She laughed softly, sensing his discomfort. "I am Aleeshia, daughter of Roe-Lahii."  
  
"Bialar Crais," he replied with a nod. Not one to make the same mistake twice, he opted for a direct approach. "Would you care to join me for something to eat?"  
  
She studied him for a microt and turned back to select another of the small melons. Without looking over, she answered. "I know an eatery that serves fresh praefish. The tables are outside by a fountain near the Lake of Lights."  
  
"That sounds quite enjoyable," he said, reaching to carry her basket.  
  
# # #  
  
As they walked, she told him she was an herbalist on her home world, sent to collect symphytum specimens from throughout the quadrant for a government-funded research project. Delzahma was her final stop before returning to Wildor. She spoke easily, with a confidence spawned by education, yet the simplicity of a woman likely of common birthright. Although his scientific background enabled him to participate in the conversation, he found himself for the most part listening, fascinated by the lyrical quality of her voice.  
  
They selected a table alongside the fountain with a view of the adjoining lake and park. Since Aleeshia was familiar with the local food, Crais encouraged her to select for them. After ordering she sat quietly, regarding him. He knew it was his turn to speak.  
  
"I am a ship's Captain, currently between cargos," he stated.  
  
She nodded, waiting.  
  
"Will you be returning to Wildor soon?" he asked.  
  
"In another weeken," she replied. She brought an elbow up onto the table and rested her chin in her hand. Her brow rose, reminding him that she did not fall for such tactics.  
  
Crais's thin smile and nod acknowledged as much. "What would you like to know?" he asked, trying not to let his eyes wander to the elaborate designs across her shoulders.  
  
"Only the truth, if you please."  
  
He waited while the server placed two glasses of nectar and a basket of fried breads on the table. "I *am* a ship's Captain." He repeated the words a bit slower than the first time. "And I am currently without a cargo."  
  
Aleeshia laughed. "Forgive me," she said, raising the glass to her lips. "You seemed so hesitant the first time you said it. Are you not proud of your ship?"  
  
"Quite the contrary, I am extremely proud of Talyn."  
  
"Talyn..." She stretched the word out, measuring the sound of it. "How large is your crew?"  
  
"It is just Talyn and myself."  
  
Her head tilted in question.  
  
"Talyn is a Leviathan."  
  
"A living ship?" Her eyes widened as a wondrous smile spread across her face. "I have heard of such beings, but I have never seen one. Will you show me?"  
  
"He is orbiting the planet."  
  
"They are large, are they not?"  
  
Crais nodded.  
  
"You live on such a large ship by yourself? It is no wonder you invent excuses to speak to strangers."  
  
"Only beautiful ones," he said, finally glancing down to admire her bare shoulders. "Those markings are quite elegant. Do all members of your race have them?"  
  
She leaned forward, dipping a shoulder toward him. An intricate pattern of slender, raised lines on her skin, almost the same bronzed color as her hair, swirled across her shoulders and down her back. An occasional individual strand trickled across onto her chest and disappeared into smooth, flawless skin. "It is called a shrawl. All Wildorians are born with a small one on the base of their necks. As we age, the pattern extends along our shoulders and continues down our back, until it meets. Once the shrawl connects, we are considered *mature*."  
  
"Meaning you have reached adulthood," Crais said to indicate his understanding.  
  
"Meaning a female is able to conceive or a male to sire offspring, and the urge to do so begins to manifest itself."  
  
"Yes, well, that is what I meant," he said, although it was the furthest thought from his mind. He cleared his throat and finished his nectar, raising the glass to catch the server's attention.  
  
She laughed softly, yet the warm sound of it did not rankle him. When she offered no protest, he ordered them both another nectar. He slipped his hand beneath his full loose head of hair onto the transponder, concentrating for a moment on a communication from Talyn. The Leviathan wanted to know what was taking him so long on the planet's surface. Crais assured him that while there was no problem, he was not yet ready to return.  
  
He had no idea how she knew.  
  
"What were you just doing?" she asked.  
  
"Communicating with Talyn."  
  
Her perfect brow displayed a wrinkle. "How?"  
  
He reached for her hand, and encountering no resistance, brought it behind his neck and pressed it lightly against the transponder. "I have a neural link that enables me to communicate with him mentally." She ran her fingers delicately across it and then threaded them up into the back of his hair.  
  
"You exchange thoughts?"  
  
"Yes." Crais studied her carefully for reaction. Her wide eyes betrayed only fascination as she continued to entwine her fingers through his long strands of hair.  
  
Aleeshia leaned to within denches. "In an arn when the sky darkens, the entire lakebed will be illuminated from below. Every creature and plant becomes visible. There are walkways floating in the air and on the water."  
  
As she trailed her hand down his arm, he took it in his. "That is something we should not miss."  
  
# # #  
  
The temperature on Delzahma dropped only slightly once the suns set. It was quiet and comfortable as they strolled the stone walkway around the lake. Numerous trails branched off the walkway toward the water, each with a railed platform for viewing the lights. Couples, who appeared more interested in each other than the lights, already occupied many of the platforms. At the first trail leading to an empty terrace, they descended to the lake's edge.  
  
Aleeshia rested her hands on the railing and gazed out over the water. "It is so very beautiful."  
  
"Yes," Crais agreed from behind her, although he was not referring to the water's luminescence. He longed to touch her, yet a part of him resisted. Prejudices embedded over a lifetime were not easily shed.  
  
She glanced back to see him staring down at the elaborate markings that embellished her shoulders. "Does my shrawl bother you?" she asked softly.  
  
Suddenly there was another choice to be made. As he looked upon this woman, irreversible contamination became mere words, another Peacekeeper lie to be discarded like all the others. "No, quite the contrary. I find it very attractive." He trailed a hand lightly across the raised scrolls along her neck and shoulder. Her eyes closed at his touch.  
  
Bringing both hands to her shoulders, he began to gently stroke the patterns, following individual lines with a fingertip until they narrowed and faded. Inhaling the rich scent of spice in her hair, he brushed the side of her neck with his lips. Aleeshia's breath escaped into a sigh.  
  
Crais let his hands drift down her back, tracing the faint outline of the shrawl through the sheer material of her dress. His hands met between her hips. He reversed the sequence, sliding his fingers up until he reached her shoulders and neck, and then back down again. Aleeshia arched into each stroke, encouraging him with her motion. After repeating the movements several more times, he slipped his arms around her waist and turned her toward him. Her face was relaxed into a smile; her eyes partially closed with pleasure. He pulled her against him into a kiss.  
  
Aleeshia pushed away and clasped a hand over her lips. "What are you doing?"  
  
"The kiss?" he asked, puzzled.  
  
"You put your mouth on mine," she replied, her tone slightly brusque.  
  
"That is a display of affection between Sebaceans," he explained. "No offense was intended.  
  
She licked her lips and then pursed them together, brushing them with the back of her hand. "Wildorians do not place their mouths together. It is not...sanitary. Surely you must find greater pleasure from being touched somewhere else." Before he could answer she laughed a bit. "Other than the obvious."  
  
He smiled, relieved to know she at least knew about *the obvious*. "I apologize. I did not intend to cause you any discomfort. I assure you, it will not happen again."  
  
Soft hands reached up to cup his face, fingers brushing slow circles against his temples. She slid her palms along his cheek, tracing the outline of each ear with a fingertip. A simple pleasure he was not accustomed to, the lightness of her touch sent a shudder through him. He nuzzled her neck, brushing the shrawl with his lips. "Come back to my ship with me," he whispered.  
  
Crais immediately wished he had not spoken. It was too soon. Aleeshia stepped back, pulling free of his arms.  
  
"No, Bialar. I should leave now," she said.  
  
He raised a brow in question. "Will I see you tomorrow?"  
  
It took several microts for her answer. She nodded, her eyes moving across his face as though to commit it to memory. Basket in hand, she turned and started up the trail before looking back. "Midday, at the fountain."  
  
# # #  
  
Upon his return to Talyn, Crais immediately pulled up the data stores on Wildorians. A three-dimensional display of male and female anatomy clearly showed the location of the shrawls. Both genders had the same diamond shaped pattern across the back of their shoulders that tapered to a point ending just above the buttocks. In addition, the markings covered the females' breasts and another small circular area between the legs. The genitalia on the male, which Crais observed to be smaller than that of a Sebacean, also bore the marks.  
  
Wildorians gave birth to live young in the same manner as Sebeceans. Although the information was not specific as to how they conceived, with such similar anatomies, Crais assumed it would be the same. He did not bother trying to hide his inquiries from Talyn. They had been together for too long for any such deception. The Leviathan knew his Captain's physical needs and exactly how the Sebacean women he brought aboard satisfied them.  
  
Yet, Talyn immediately questioned his desire to recreate with a non- Sebacean. Crais knew that he alone was responsible for instilling such prejudice in the hybrid. Even now he could not admit to being *completely* comfortable with the idea of intimacy with an alien. Still, he wanted this woman. Or perhaps he only wanted to free himself from the final constraint the Peacekeepers held over his beliefs, his actions. In all honesty, he did not know what truly fueled this desire.  
  
In many ways, Aleeshia was the same as any Sebecean woman, with only minor differences. While those differences excited him, they worried him as well. Bialar Crais knew how to pleasure a Sebacean woman, but he had no experience with a Wildorian. If the urge to explore her mouth overtook him in a moment of passion, would she reject him? Although it was possible she might come to accept the gesture, judging by her initial reaction, he rather doubted it.  
  
Talyn began to express concerns that such a joining would contaminate him as well. Crais moved to the bulkhead and sank onto the deck, his back rested against the Leviathan. He closed his eyes and began to explain. It was going to be a very long talk.  
  
# # #  
  
He had been waiting at the fountain nearly an arn when he saw Aleeshia approaching through the vendor booths. The doubts that plagued him earlier faded at the sight of her. The sunlight played off her hair creating an aura of golden curls as her sheer dress swirled and danced in the breeze. Every other woman in the marketplace paled by comparison.  
  
Crais stood as she neared, taking several steps forward to greet her. Her eyes were cast downward, heavy with thought. Forcing a smile, she shook her head when he gestured toward their table.  
  
"I would rather walk," she said without explanation.  
  
Aleeshia waited until they were alone on the walkway before she stopped and turned toward him. "I have spent a great deal of time thinking of you since last evening."  
  
"I did the same of you," Crais responded with a provocative smile.  
  
She shook her head for him to stop. "Please, Bialar, let me speak. And know that these words do not come easily." He followed her several paces off the walkway and waited until she finally turned her eyes up to his. "Very few Wildorians ever travel off world. My people are proud of their heritage and guarded of it. I live in a strict society that believes in purity of race and limited contact with other species. What I did with you last night is already enough to have me shunned for being *unclean*."  
  
His soft laughter came as a surprise to them both. Crais reached to take her in his arms. "Aleeshia, that does not matter..."  
  
"Yes Bialar, it does." She pulled away, her voice strangled, tears starting to form. "I cannot risk everything for a few arns of pleasure. If they ever found out, I would be outcast. I would be alone...always. I know that you do not understand."  
  
Yet he did. He took a step back and nodded, his dark eyes empty. Did his past lie so close to the surface that she recognized him for what he once was? Or was she merely a victim of her own Peacekeepers?  
  
In that moment, they looked at each other through the same eyes as they had the afternoon before. He felt his cheek flinch, and saw her lip quiver. For a microt, her smile returned. Stepping close, she pressed her lips lightly against his before walking away.  
  
# # #  
  
He remained on the planet another solar day, seated by the fountain that overlooked the Lake of Lights. He hoped there was a chance Aleeshia would come to accept the differences between them, as he had. Yet Talyn grew restless, and despite the absence of warning beacons on Delzahma, he knew the Peacekeepers were never far behind them. Once again, they moved on.  
  
He never saw her again. 


End file.
